The report cited the academy as saying tests had shown that a chemical compound extracted from white lingzhimushrooms had anti-cancer qualities. It said the mushroom was regarded in China as the “medicine of kings”.

The report said that researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Microbiology had this year extracted GL22, a chemical compound that helps produce steroids. Clinical trials on mice have shown that GL22 can inhibit the proliferation of hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer, according to the regional academy, it added.

The mushroom was said to grow only in high-altitude areas of Tibet, including in Lhasa, Nyingchi (Nyingtri), Shannan (Lhokha) and Xigaze (Shigatse).